Spotlight: Simply Stravinsky
“Is it not by love alone that we succeed in penetrating to the very essence of being?” This is a quote by the renowned Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky, named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of the 20th century. Stravinsky received recognition not only for his compositions but also for his skills as a pianist and conductor.
Stravinsky was born in 1882 in Oraniebaum, Russia but raised in St. Petersburg. According to his autobiography, his childhood was troubled. His father was a bass singer and young Stravinsky began piano lessons, studied music theory, and began his hand at composing. Even though he clearly had a fascination for music, his parents expected Stravinsky to become a lawyer. The studies clearly did not interest him, as he attended less than 50 classes in four years. His father passed away in 1902, and after being prevented from taking his law finals and earning a half-course diploma, Stravinsky was able to focus all his attention to his musical interests.
In 1905, Stravinsky began to take private lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov, who became a father figure to him. In that same year, he became engaged to his second cousin, Katerina Nossenko. They married in 1906 and had two children—Feodor and Ludmila.
In 1909, Stravinsky presented his Fireworks composition in St. Petersburg. In attendance was Sergei Diaghilev, the director of the Ballets Russes in Paris. Diaghilev was impressed and commissioned Stravinsky for orchestrations and then for a full-length ballet score, The Firebird.
Stravinsky moved to Europe and penned three more ballets for the Ballets Russes: The Rite of Spring, Petrushka, and Pulcinella. Stravinsky’s work can be classified into three stylistic periods: The Rite of Spring and Petrushka ended his Russian Period. Stravinsky moved next into his Neoclassical Period—defined by Pulcinella and Octet (1923), which lacked the large orchestras of former ballets and used wind instruments, the piano, and choral and chamber works. Lastly was his Serial Period, which included the use of dodecaphony, the twelve-tone technique devised by Schoenberg. Stravinsky’s ballet Agon displayed this technique.
For many years, Stravinsky romanced two women—his wife Katarina and his mistress Vera. Katarina, Stravinsky, and their daughter Ludmila were all stricken with tuberculosis; Katarina and Ludmila died from the disease. After months in the hospital, Stravinsky survived and moved to the United States shortly thereafter. His marriage to Vera was a happy one despite rumors of several affairs. Stravinsky died in 1971 at the age of 88.
There is much more interesting information about him on the Simply Stravinsky page…click on the link to read all about him!
Happy Learning !